From Paragraph to Essay
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There are two basic ways to go about writing 1-3-1 expository essays. The
first is to expand a general-to-specific paragraph into an essay. The second is
the more direct procedure of simply writing an essay from scratch.
To turn a paragraph into an essay, follow these five basic steps:
a. Make the topic sentence of the paragraph the basis for the thesis
sentence of the essay.
b. Make the primary supports in the paragraph the topic sentences for the
body paragraphs of the essay.
c. Write the body paragraphs of the essay.
d. Write an introductory paragraph for the essay.
e. Write a concluding paragraph for the essay.
When turning a paragraph into an essay, you will find that the secondary
supports in the original paragraph can often be used as primary supports in
the body paragraphs of the essay.
The introductory paragraph of an essay should accomplish three objectives. It
should (1) capture the reader’s interest, (2) state the thesis of the essay, and
(3) introduce the divisions in the body paragraphs of the essay.
There are several devices that you can use in an introductory paragraph to
capture the interest of your reader. You may use (1) a personal testimony, (2)
an anecdote, (3) a simple but well-focused generalization, (4) factual data, (5)
a quotation, (6) a combination of these devices.
The concluding paragraph of a 1-3-1 essay should accomplish two main
objectives: It should (1) restate the thesis and the divisions of the essay using
words different from those in the introductory paragraph and (2) bring the
essay to an end smoothly, without digressing into any new issues.
There are several devices you can use to write effective concluding
paragraphs for your essays. You can (1) refer to a fact, idea, or quotation that
you presented in the introduction, as a means of tying the beginning and
conclusion of the essay together, (2) make a prediction after you have
repeated the thesis and divisions, and (3) make a recommendation after you
have repeated the thesis and divisions.
If you understand the structure of a 1-3-1 essay and can effectively expand a
paragraph into a 1-3-1 essay, you should have little trouble writing this type of
essay from scratch.
To write a 1-3-1 essay from scratch, follow these five basic steps:
a. Select a topic.
b. Write a thesis sentence.
c. Select a method of development and organize the essay.
d. Write topic sentences for the body paragraphs of the essay.
e. Write the body paragraphs of the essay, and furnish a paragraph of
introduction and a paragraph of conclusion.
In selecting a topic for an essay, use the same criteria which you used when
selecting a topic for a paragraph. In order to write effectively about a topic,
you need to be familiar with it, either from personal experience or from
reading, watching television and so on.
If you are assigned a topic, be sure to narrow it down sufficiently to make it
manageable within the space of an essay.
When writing a thesis sentence for an essay, be sure the thesis statement (or
sentence) expresses a controlling idea that is neither too broad nor too
specific to be developed effectively.
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To organize an essay, select a method of development and write a basic
outline for the essay.
Often you will decide upon the method of development you want to use when
you select your topic and write your thesis sentence. To make sure that you
have chosen the best method available for developing your thesis sentence,
check through the other methods before you finally settle on one.
In writing an outline, begin by listing the major divisions which the body
paragraphs in your essay will discuss; then fill in the primary supports that
each of the body paragraphs of the essay will contain. The entries in your
essay need not to be elaborate. Generally, a word or phrase for each topic
sentence and each primary support sentence will be sufficient.
For each body paragraph, furnish a topic sentence that directly relates to the
thesis sentence and that is developed by the primary supports of the
paragraph.
When writing introductory and concluding paragraphs, follow the same
procedure that you used for writing introductions and conclusions to essays
based on individual paragraphs. Keep in mind that an introductory paragraph
should (1) state the thesis of the essay, (2) introduce the divisions in the body
paragraphs of the essay, and (3) gain the interest of the reader. A concluding
paragraph should (1) restate the thesis and divisions of the essay and (2)
bring the essay to an appropriate and effective close without digressing into
new issues.
Source: A. Franklin Parks, James A. Lavernier, Ida Masters Hollowell, ; ‘Structuring
Paragraphs; A guide to Effective Writing’, 1986, St. Martin’s Press, Inc, New York